Seven students from Sequim’s Olympic Peninsula Academy are taking their creativity to Tennessee.

The team the “Odd People’s Association” competed in creative challenges regionally and statewide for the coveted chance to attend Destination Imagination’s Global Finals, set for May 25-28 in Knoxville.

Destination Imagination Inc., is an international, volunteer-led nonprofit with a vision “to teach students the creative process and empower them with the skills needed to succeed in an ever-changing world.”

Since it incorporated in 1982, student teams from around the world participate in Destination Imagination through its Challenge Program, where they solve STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), fine arts and service learning challenges and present their solution before trained appraisers.

Having scored well locally, the Odd People’s Association will convene May 25-28 with more than 8,000 student teams from a variety of U.S. states and other countries in Knoxville, Tenn.

There, the team will compete in the Fine Arts Challenge “Get A Clue” — one of seven team challenges. In this challenge the teammates marry theater arts and creativity with script writing, prop construction and costume design.

The challenge

The team’s solution to the Fine Arts Challenge is a skit inspired by the women’s movement during 1960s in the U.S., with author and feminist Betty Friedan as one of their characters. The skit is mystery that takes place from a pie shop where an extra chapter from Friedan’s groundbreaking book “The Feminine Mystique” goes missing.

From writing the script and constructing the set to researching the time period for accurate costume design, “I think they’ve done an amazing and creative job,” Dee Dee Nielsen, Odd People’s Association manager, said.

Like all teams attending globals the team also will participate in an Instant Challenge where they’re allowed mere minutes to solve a challenge.

“We had no idea that we would be going to globals … we were just going to be happy if we placed,” Nielsen said “I’m so proud of these kids.”

Other than facilitating the class, acting as “peace keeper” and helping the students stay on task, Nielsen and her team co-manager Michele Canepa, aren’t allowed to help the team come up with their solutions to the challenge.

“One of the really neat things about our team is it’s primarily a middle school team, but we have one high schooler so we have to compete at the high school level,” she said.

Teammates include 11th-grader Tanner Berryhill, eighth-grader Emily Nielsen, seventh-graders Devin Rynearson, Xander Bolinger and Gianna Halo and sixth-graders Cadence Biehler and Aiyana Dennis.

The opportunity to attend globals is “really awesome,” Biehler said.

Because communication is among the many life skills practiced at Destination Imagination’s Global Finals attending “will definitely help me in my future,” she said, noting she’d like to pursue journalism.

Rynearson echoes Biehler’s excitement at the chance to travel to Tennessee.

“It feels really good,” he said. “People from all over the world are going to be at this one spot and there are going to be so many different things to do and try.”

Fundraising for experience

Beyond the tournament, scheduled festivities at Global Finals include interactive exhibits, pin trading, skills workshops and international events. Global Finals is sponsored by Destination Imagination supporters including NASA, 3M, Disney, Motorola Solutions Foundation, Oracle Academy, Mayo Clinic, Project Management Institute Educational Foundation, ShareSpace Foundation, PCG Education, National Geographic, U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Partnership for 21st Century Learning and other industry organizations.

“I’ve been told by people that have gone that it’s one of the best experiences the students could have,” Nielsen said.

The cost of going is a “daunting task,” but knowing the invaluable experiences to be had, “it’s something we need to do,” she said.

To attend Global Finals the Odd People’s Association is working toward a fundraising goal of $15,000. Throughout May and the remainder of April the students, team managers, family and friends will be hosting a variety of fundraising events.

Already the team has been working hard, Nielsen said. They’ve weeded yards, washed a yacht, removed a deck, dug holes, painted and held a car wash.

“This is a rare and exciting opportunity for these kids,” Nielsen said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

For more information on Destination Imagination Inc., visit www.destinationimagination.org.

Reach Alana Linderoth at alinderoth@sequimgazette.com.